Dual Tank System Build Thread

[lanimret]

Wow

This looks so good! When do you think you'll have it finished?

Probably a few months. My list looks like this at them moment (in no particular order):

Finish stands
Plumbing
Upper cabinet framing
Finish cabinetry
Install solar lighting
Install LED supplemental lighting
Build equipment cabinet in garage
Build some custom rock and a rock wall with cement

So ya, a lot to do

 

[Ace25]

Very nice.. as I was looking at your recent pictures I had forgotten what type of lighting you were going with but in my head I kept thinking "Please go solar... please go solar..." and now I see you are doing just that. Awesome! That will save a ton of money. My friend with a 240G solar lit tank, his electric bill is less to run his tank than it cost me to run my 75G each month due to him using solar tubes.

 

[lanimret]

Very nice.. as I was looking at your recent pictures I had forgotten what type of lighting you were going with but in my head I kept thinking "Please go solar... please go solar..." and now I see you are doing just that. Awesome! That will save a ton of money. My friend with a 240G solar lit tank, his electric bill is less to run his tank than it cost me to run my 75G each month due to him using solar tubes.

Yup, going solar, with some supplemental LED just for show (at night).

My one concern is I only want to use one solar tube per tank (since I don't want 4 domes on the roof) and because of the framing up there I am restricted to the 10" tubes (as opposed to the 14"). I'm hoping that will be enough for a fairly shallow 100g tank, but I'm not certain.

 

[Ace25]

Ouch... that sucks.. 1 tube per tank AND 10"? I would think you would need 2 10" or at least 1 14" one.

Either way... with only 1 tube per tank that is going to give an interesting look to the tank. As long as you place the most light demanding corals under the tube I don't see any reason it wont work... you will just have dim edges to the tank were you can grow things like chalices if you wanted... and it will be a neat look I think.

As for LED suplimentals.. well.. they are good for the blue part.. but I am still not sold as them being a direct replacement for "actinic" light.. they just don't quite give that actinic glow/pop that VHO/T5HO bulbs give you in actinics. LEDs will give you some glow, but I would say only about 50% of what you would get from tubes... but it is your call.. LEDs will probably give you more light output that is good for growing corals, but not as much "glow" from the corals.. or tubes will give you more glow but less overall usable light for the corals.. decisions decisions.

 

[lanimret]

Ouch... that sucks.. 1 tube per tank AND 10"? I would think you would need 2 10" or at least 1 14" one.

Either way... with only 1 tube per tank that is going to give an interesting look to the tank. As long as you place the most light demanding corals under the tube I don't see any reason it wont work... you will just have dim edges to the tank were you can grow things like chalices if you wanted... and it will be a neat look I think.

As for LED suplimentals.. well.. they are good for the blue part.. but I am still not sold as them being a direct replacement for "actinic" light.. they just don't quite give that actinic glow/pop that VHO/T5HO bulbs give you in actinics. LEDs will give you some glow, but I would say only about 50% of what you would get from tubes... but it is your call.. LEDs will probably give you more light output that is good for growing corals, but not as much "glow" from the corals.. or tubes will give you more glow but less overall usable light for the corals.. decisions decisions.

Ya that is my worry. I was planning to build a reflective canopy though from the tube to the tank to try and spread the light out some, but that is still all up for debate. I don't think there is a way to get a 14" tube through the framing, but I wonder if I could use a 14" dome and downsize to a 10" tube, I believe that will still collect more light than a 10" dome on a 10" tube.

The LED's will simply be for viewing, not growing. One of my primary goals is for this system to be as low maintenance as possible. LED's don't require regular scheduled replacement (especially if just for viewing) and are cheap to run. They will only be turned on for a few hours in the evening.

 

[lanimret]

Looking for some advice here, trying to decide what my next step should be.

I finished the stand supporting structure for both tanks. My next step was going to be cabinetry, but I realized that the design I am going with would require the tank be 'locked in' to the cabinetry as soon as I put the first few pieces in place. That is not going to work.

So, my next step need to be to finish the details on the tank and get it 100% ready for plumbing.

I am planning to hide all returns and drains as much as possible. The returns from the sump will be 2 jets drilled in the side of the tank. The CL system will have a 1.5"x6" drain screen, and between 2 and 4 returns for each tank.

so:

1) Should I place both sump return jets on one side (of one side), one above the other (one at water level), or one on each side (by this I mean, one on the right of the overflow, one on the left, or both on one side)? Since I will be using a wave making device on the CL, I'm not sure if it's better to have a strong unidirectional flow or not. Keep in mind this will not be on the back of the tank, but the side (since this is a peninsula tank essentially).

2) Should I use a 2 or 4 output wave making device. Cost, noise, and flow are my concerns. I am planning to use around a 1000gph CL pump. If I use a 4 way device, i have to drill 4 holes, plus the drain, plus the two returns, thats 7 holes, just wondering if that's too many.
I am leaning heavily towards an oceansmotions device (http://www.oceansmotions.com/store/index.php?osCsid=90a7254ab7e8bdcde572b976030facf6)

3) Where is the best place to put my CL drain. I want to hide it, and was considering mounting it on the bottom and hiding it inside rock (with a small riser to keep sand out). Any problems with that idea?

 

[lanimret]

Another update:

Took the carpet out where both tanks will sit, cut holes in the subfloor and verified the piping will all be able to get to the garage (phew!).

Put in all the bulkheads for the first tanks closed loop system. Waiting on one more bulkhead to do the second tanks. Also need to decide where I am putting the two bulkheads for the return for the sump (one above the other on one side, or one on each side).

I put down a (very thin) layer of cork between the tank and the stand, plus a thin layer of a waterproof dense foam (shelf liner). That seems to have worked well, and should protect the stand from leaks and creep (I'll paint the inside).

Also, best news of the week, got a Reeflo blackfin 3600 on ebay for $110. Cuts the budget considerably and will more than manage both tanks.

 

[Zaffy]

Good news on the pump.

 

[lanimret]

Bought a 6ft metal shelving rack for the garage equipment this weekend. I will 'cover' this with a melamine cabinet (to keep sawdust and such from getting into the system, and to keep it warm in the winter). I used the shelving because it was cheap, strong, and takes up less space than 4x4's. Very happy with it.

I'll post some pics later, but I've got the 50g sump on the bottom shelf. A 20g refugium and a 20g quarantine tank on the 2nd shelf (and will later add a turf scrubber) and the 50g tub for water changes on the top shelf. It all fits perfectly and I am extremely pleased.

Next step is to clean up the sump tank (needs to be resealed) and put in the baffles. Also a ton of plumbing.

 

[lanimret]

Haven't updated much lately, winter here makes it tough to work in the garage and the wife made me keep the spending down for a bit.

That said, thought I would post and let anyone who cares know this project is not dead, and should be functional within the next 8 weeks. Basically just have some plumbing to do and a few odds and ends at this point. Already made the concrete rocks (curing at the moment). However I will only be bringing one of the two tanks online to start with, and I am going to use my current fluorescent fixture as a temporary solution until I can afford to have the solar tubes installed.

Old tank is having flooding problems and wife is bugging me to get this done as soon as possible, so sprint to the finish time. I'll post some pictures if anyone is interested.